Social Justice

Since the rise of the Religious Right, many people have associated American religion with political and cultural conservatism. Historically, however, American religion has been at least as liberal as conservative.

Some years ago, when I was helping the daughter of friends prepare for her bat mitzvah, we got to talking about her ‘‘bat mitzvah project.’’ She confided that while her parents wanted her to do something Jewish, she wanted to do something related to social justice. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Editors' Picks

Tower of BabbleJudah Bellin, Commentary. A recent book on Jewish social justice claims to apply “Jewish values and law” to “pressing contemporary moral issues.” But does it reduce the Torah to a vehicle for a political agenda?